Television

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Nebraska carries out first execution in twenty-one years

The 16th Execution of 2018

Nebraska carried out its first execution in more than two
decades on August 14, 2018 with a drug combination never tried before, including the
first use of the powerful opioid fentanyl in a lethal injection, reported The Associated Press.

Carey Dean Moore, 60, was pronounced dead at 10:47 a.m.
Moore had been sentenced to death for killing two cab drivers in Omaha in 1979.
He was the first inmate to be lethally injected in Nebraska, which last carried
out an execution in 1997, using the electric chair.

Witnesses said that there appeared to be no complications in
the execution process, which also was the first time a state used four drugs in
combination. Moore remained mostly still throughout the execution but breathed
heavily and gradually red and then purple as the drugs were administered.

Media witnesses including The Associated Press saw Moore
take short, gasping breaths that became deeper and more labored. His chest
heaved several times before it went still. His eyelids briefly cracked open.

At one point while on the gurney, Moore turned his head and
mouthed several words to his family, including “I love you.” No members of the
victims’ families witnessed the execution.

The Department of Correctional Services said the first
lethal injection drug was administered at 10:24 a.m. Moore was declared dead at
10:47 a.m.

In
his final written statement , Moore admitted: “I am guilty.” But he
said there are others on Nebraska’s death row who he believes are innocent and
he said they should be released.

“How might you feel if your loved one was innocent and on
death row?” Moore asked.

The execution drew only about a dozen death penalty
supporters and protesters who stood in the rain outside the Nebraska State
Penitentiary in Lincoln. Death penalty opponents planned to gather outside the
Nebraska Capitol at 5 p.m. for their own rally.

The light turnout stood in contrast to the 1994 execution of
Harold Lamont Otey, when more than 1,000 people created a raucous, party-like
atmosphere. Otey was executed shortly after midnight in the electric chair, and
some in the crowd sang the song “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” after it was
announced. Later executions were scheduled at 10 a.m.cribe to The Morning
Email.

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Moore’s execution comes a little more than three years after
Nebraska lawmakers abolished the death penalty, only to have it reinstated the
following year through a citizen ballot drive partially financed by Republican
Gov. Pete Ricketts. The governor, a wealthy former businessman, has said he
was fulfilling
the wishes of voters in the conservative state.

The Nebraska drug protocol called for an initial IV dose of
diazepam, commonly known as Valium, to render the inmate unconscious, followed
by the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, then cisatracurium besylate to
induce paralysis and stop the inmate from breathing and potassium chloride to stop
the heart.

Diazepam and cisatracurium also had never been used in
executions before.

According to prosecutors, Moore was 21 when he fatally shot
Reuel Van Ness during a robbery with his younger brother, and used the money to
buy drugs and pornography. Moore fatally shot Maynard Helgeland by himself five
days later, saying he wanted to prove he could take a man’s life by himself.
Moore was arrested a week later. He was charged and convicted of first-degree
murder, while his 14-year-old brother was convicted of second-degree murder.

In his statement, Moore also apologized to his brother for
dragging him into the robbery and murder.

“I should (have) led him in the right way to go instead of
bringing him down, way down,” Moore said.

Moore had faced execution dates set by the Nebraska Supreme
Court seven times since he was convicted, but each was delayed because of legal
challenges and questions over whether previous lethal injection drugs were
purchased legally. For some relatives of Moore’s victims, that was far too long
— and they hope his name and crimes will finally vanish from headlines.

About Matt

An analysis of crime and punishment from the perspective of a former prosecutor and current criminal justice practitioner.
The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or postions of any county, state or federal agency.